Misunderstanding
by Anneliza
Summary: Prussia is late and Austria is upset with him. Does he have a good reason for being late? Will Austria accept it?


Austria was waiting. He was sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of a busy park. Children ran by him almost constantly with overprotective parents following them with bug spray and sunscreen. He had been sitting on the bench for almost half an hour and was starting to get impatient.

Prussia was late. And he knew it. He had promised to meet the Austrian half an hour ago and he /had/ meant to be there on time but his errand had taken longer than he had planned. Running through the park, he spotted the man on a bench, legs crossed and foot jiggling. He knew then that he was in trouble.

"Hey!" he called, waving. "I'm here Roddy!"

The other man turned at the sound of his name and frowned.

"You are half an hour late," he said slowly, still frowning. "I nearly left at least a dozen times."

Grinning, trying to act like he wasn't a little scared, he said, "Oh Roddy, you know you wouldn't miss getting the chance to see me."

Roderich still frowned.

"What took you so long?"

"I had stuff to do," he replied, nonchalant.

"And that was?"

Gilbert looked down at the clock on his phone.

"Wait just a few more minutes."

He sat down on the bench next to the still unhappy Austrian and tried to put his arm around him but it was pushed off. A few minutes later a young woman carrying something approached them.

"Gilbert?"

The white haired man nodded eagerly, jumping to his feet.

"Ja. That's me."

Meanwhile the seated man realized that the object the woman was carrying was a baby as she passed it to the Prussian. Putting the pieces together, he stood up, trying to hide his hurt.

"I am not foolish. I can understand what is going on."

Gilbert smiled.

"Gut! I'm so glad you agree!"

"I thought that the last few months were what you wanted but apparently it was not enough. I will bow out and let you be a responsible adult."

"What?" Gilbert asked, clearly confused. "What are you talking about? Roddy! Come back!"

He handed the child back to the woman and ran after the retreating musician.

Catching up, he grabbed the other's arm and pulled him to a stop.

"What do you want, Gilbert?" he asked, head held low in an attempt to hide the tears glistening in his eyes. "I am trying to let you be a responsible adult for once in your life. Please allow me to do so and release my arm."

"Roddy, I'm not leaving you. And I didn't cheat on you. That kid isn't related to me…by blood anyway…I adopted her. For us."

Roderich looked at him over his shoulder.

"W-What…?"

The taller man turned him around to look at him fully.

"I adopted a kid for us to raise together," he said slowly, making sure that the other would understand. "I know how much you want another chance to raise a kid, and I do too, so I got her." Gilbert grinned. "And yes, it is a girl."

Roderich looked over at the woman who smiled and took the baby's hand, making it wave at him.

"A girl…?"

"Ja, Roddy. A girl. And you get to name her." Austria's resolve was breaking and he knew it. "Think of how much Annaliese will dote on her." He also knew how much he loved his sister.

"B-But…" He was grasping for an excuse to object. "B-But…what about Leopold? What if he thinks that she's replacing him? What if he wants to leave again?"

"He helped pick her out. He's fine with it. He wants to be a big brother." Gilbert tugged at his hand. "Come on, Roddy. Let's go see her."

They started to walk back but Roderich pulled away.

"What if I am foolish again and treat her like Italy…? What…what if she doesn't like me…?"

The other man stared at him for a moment, surprised that he had admitted his true fears, before smiling.

"You are older now. You've learned. I can't think of any reason she wouldn't love you." He held out his hand. "Trust me."

Roderich studied his hand for a long time before saying, "Alright…" and taking it.

Again they started walking, this time hand in hand.

When they reached the woman she smiled brightly at them.

"Mr. Edelstein, Mr. Beilschmidt did this for you. I feel like I know you from how much he talked about you."

The musician looked at Gilbert.

"Really?"

Gilbert blushed and looked away.

"It wasn't that much…"

Shaking his head, Roderich smiled a little.

"Would you like to hold your daughter, Mr. Edelstein?"

The smile disappeared as his face paled.

"U-Uh…I am not so sure about that…"

Gilbert nudged him.

"Go on, Roddy. It'll be fine."

"Alright…" Cautiously he reached out and took the baby, holding it carefully. The girl yawned and looked up at him, causing Roderich to panic and start to give her back. Suddenly a big smile broke out on her face and she reached her arms up to him. "She…she likes me…?" he asked, shocked.

Gilbert smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"She likes you. Just like I said she would."

Roderich looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you, Gilbert."

"Of course, Roddy." He kissed his cheek. "I love you, Roderich."

"I love you too, Gilbert."

* * *

AN: I wrote this for my friend's birthday, which is today! We talked about what would happen if Prussia adopted a kid and showed it to Austria. I just flushed out our basic idea. Oh! And 'Leopold' is Kugelmugel.


End file.
